Lina Benabdallah is assistant professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University. Her current book project examines China’s multilateral foreign policy in continental Africa and seeks to theorize the power dynamics within the seemingly equal Global South diplomatic relations. Her fieldwork research areas include China, Ethiopia, and Kenya. At Wake Forest she teaches courses in international relations, African Studies, and international studies.

Education

B.A. 2004, University of Batna
M.A. 2014, University of Florida
Ph.D. 2017, University of Florida

This course examines why some nations develop at a quite fast pace while others – even when rich in natural resources – still lag behind. Some of the themes explored throughout the course include probing the role and impact of colonial history, state-formation, civil conflicts and governance issues on economic growth and development. The course also aims at evaluating development models as seen in both the Washington Consensus through international institutions such as IMF and World bank, and the Beijing Consensus along with the new set of institutions established by China and other other emerging economies.

POL 242 China-Africa Encounters

China Africa encounters are one of the most important political, diplomatic, economic, and social phenomena of our times. Questions examined in this course include: is Africa, a rich continent of 54 countries with a long history of dependence on foreign powers, diversifying its dependence from Western to Eastern partners? Are African countries negotiating political, military, and economic deals with China in the most beneficial way to their citizens? China has come a long way from practicing an isolated foreign policy to becoming one of the most involved powers in world affairs in general and Africa specifically. Yet, China’s ways of conducting its foreign relations both bilaterally and through international institutions are comparatively different from practices and ways of doing common to Western countries. Therefore, it is important for students of Political Science to be able to follow, analyze, and critically think about questions of China’s influence on African states from governance, military, socio-economic and cultural perspectives.